1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fittings for a snowboard, and more particularly to an innovative fitting with a binding for a snowboard boot.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
The snowboard is structurally set in such a way that a binding must be assembled at the top for slipping and fixation of the snowboard boot.
As for a conventional snowboard binding, it is time-consuming to slip and fix or remove the snowboard boot, making considerably awkward for the users. Therefore, continuous efforts have been made in the industry to provide and innovative fixing mechanism to overcome the shortcomings of the conventional snowboard binding.
The following are some examples of conventional snowboard bindings, having a particular structure and the following shortcomings.
A snowboard binding is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,893, wherein the top pressboard and the rear plate are linked by a rope, and a movable bending frame is set on the bottom plate of the snowboard binding. When the snowboard boot is slipped into the binding and treaded onto the movable curved frame, the rope can be pulled to drive the pressboard and rear plate for swinging correspondingly and tightening of the snowboard boot. However, it is found during actual application that the rope is vulnerable to abrasion, cracking and damage, resulting in a shorter service life. Moreover, the snowboard boot cannot be slipped easily due to the very limited maximum opening angle formed between the pressboard and rear plate.
A snowboard binding is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,207,592 B2, wherein the rear plate can swing obliquely, allowing to control the maximum and minimum opening angle for the snowboard boot. The front pressure plate is fixedly profiled, so the maximum opening angle for the snowboard boot is still extremely limited, leading to inconvenient slipping of the snowboard boot.
Snowboard bindings are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,246,811 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 7,147,233 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,897, wherein the maximum opening angle for each snowboard boot is still extremely limited despite of the adjustable design of the front pressboard or the rear plate. In such cases, the users have to slip their boots into the binding from an oblique path. Yet, snowboarders and skiiers generally put on heavy clothes and snowboard boots, making them move clumsily, even without mentioning shifting the snowboard binding fixed on the prolonged or expanded snowboard. Hence, the relevant industries have to make breakthrough innovation to simplify the slipping and disengagement of snowboard boot and to operate the snowboard binding more easily and flexibly.
Thus, to overcome the aforementioned problems of the prior art, it would be an advancement in the art to provide an improved structure that can significantly improve efficacy.
Therefore, the inventor has provided the present invention of practicability after deliberate design and evaluation based on years of experience in the production, development and design of related products.